Attorney General Anne Lopez is sharing consumer protection reminders and raising awareness about the availability of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services following Change Healthcare’s February data breach.
[In April, Attorney General Lopez joined other attorneys general in sending a letter to UnitedHealth Group, Inc. — the nation’s largest health insurer and the parent company of Change Healthcare — urging the corporation to take more meaningful action to better protect providers, pharmacies, and patients harmed by the recent breach.] Change Healthcare, a unit of UnitedHealth, is the nation’s biggest electronic data clearinghouse. Change Healthcare's technological infrastructure is used by tens of thousands of providers, pharmacies, and insurers to verify insurance, confirm preauthorization of procedures or services, exchange insurance claim data, and perform other administrative tasks essential to the delivery of health care. This was an unprecedented data breach. The February cyberattack interrupted operations for thousands of doctors’ offices, hospitals, and pharmacies. It also resulted in Americans’ sensitive health and personal data being leaked onto the dark web - a hidden portion of the Internet where cyber criminals buy, sell, and track personal information. The actual number and identity of affected patients are currently unknown.
Change Healthcare has publicly stated that the data breach could impact up to one-third of all Americans. Typically, when there is a data breach impacting Hawaiʻi residents, consumers receive an individualized letter or email if their data was impacted. However, Change Healthcare has not yet provided individual notices to consumers. Given the delay between the data breach and notification to those impacted, Attorney General Lopez is publicizing not just the breach, but also resources, including the offer that Change Healthcare has provided to the public. “We have heard from local medical providers who say the cyberattack did cause issues with access including delayed insurance authorizations and claim reimbursements. While our office is working to address the fallout from the data breach, we encourage those affected by the cyberattack to take advantage of the available resources,” said Attorney General Anne Lopez.” Change Healthcare is offering ALL Hawaiʻi residents who believe they may have been impacted, free credit monitoring and identity theft protections for two years.
The dedicated website and call center will not be able to provide individuals details about whether their data was impacted, but can guide them through getting set up for the free credit monitoring and identity theft protections.
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